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Slip-sliding Away
Author: BobR    Date: 2014-02-19 12:08:40

Yesterday in the blog comments, Scoopster posted two seemingly unconnected stories. One was about the sudden death of a guitarist, the other about the retirement of a congressman. But in an odd way, they sort of are connected.

The retiring congressman is Rush D. Holt, Jr (D-NJ). He is actually a research physicist from Princeton University who has long advocated for science:
Mr. Holt is perhaps most popularly known as the five-time “Jeopardy!” champion who later won a celebrity round against Watson, the IBM supercomputer. In and around Princeton, where he had been assistant director of the Plasma Physics Laboratory, bumper stickers on Priuses proudly proclaim “My Congressman IS a Rocket Scientist.”

He has consistently pushed for more money for scientific research, and better science education, securing $22 billion for research in the stimulus bill, and grants of $16,000 for students who prepare to teach math, science or foreign languages.

It is sad that we as a nation are losing not only a brilliant man in Congress, but one who knows and values the advances that science have brought to our nation, and society as a whole. That sort of forward thinking, rationale continues to dwindle in the House and the Senate.

We are also losing Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA). He too has decided to move on. Regardless of what you thought of him, he got things done.

It's happening on the Republican side as well, with Rep. Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio) recently leaving due to partisan rancor, as well as Olympia Snowe frustated with partisan politics.

In their place, we will get younger inexperienced folks who consider the partisan gamesmanship of the last 15 years to be standard operating procedure. They will have to cater to the bloodlust of gladiator-style politics, and consider science and stupidity to be equally valid sides of the same coin. How are we supposed to get any sort of reasonable climate change legislation done, when there are so many in Congress who deny that climate change even exists? We seem to be devolving.

Which is where the guitarist story comes into it. DEVO guitarist Bob Casale passed away on Monday. The band based their persona around the idea that humankind was devolving rather than evolving. Despite pockets of advancement in science, it does seem that American society as a whole seems to be backpedaling, with women's rights disappearing, superstition and religion pushing science aside, and racial segregation and targeting on the rise.

I'm hoping I'm wrong. I hope that it's just a minority of loud stupid people screaming out their last gasp of fear and frustration before they disappear beneath the waves of human progress. I hope there's a 2nd coming of the lates 60s / early 70s of societal advancement.

Otherwise - this could be the State of the Union in a few years:


 

47 comments (Latest Comment: 02/19/2014 21:52:19 by Will in Chicago)
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